All Forum Posts by: Christine Stefchak

Hi Anthony, here's a quick story time from someone who is with a partner who is not interested in REI but goes along with my schemes and our 2 year old in tow.

My fiancé and I left a pretty crappy neighborhood fall of 2020 for a value add deal we found in a top rated school district.  (on Craigslist)  We purchased the home 5% down conventional through KW mortgage ( no fees) and immediately listed our current home for sale.  We had about 60 days total from closing day to when we needed to be out of our previous home.  I hired a subpar , but good enough, contractor as well as some quick turnaround pros using home depot to do a very extensive rehab.  (gutted kitchen and the one full bath and put down new flooring throughout, new roof) We survived the reno and moved in 60 days later.   

Spent 7 months in that home and mid refi I found a mostly turn key 3 unit in an even better area. I put in an offer using FHA with 6% seller assist and I'll be darn they accepted it. We have been living here since August 2021 and LOVE it. I was able to up rents on both of the inherited tenants and so far they have worked out. It's the smallest home we have every lived in but we are so happy here because it's bringing us closer to a position of financial freedom. The rehabbed property we found on Craigslist is now renting for $1,600 per month and is cashflowing like mad even with only putting that 5% down. (mortgage is 960 a month) Yes, I canceled the refi and left a lot of money in that deal but I'm ok with it.

I just printed out my expense to income tracker for both properties and we are living for about $250 per month with ALL utilities included in that number.  It's been wonderful and will now open the door for even better savings potential moving forward into 2022.  Best of luck in your journey! 

Welcome Greg! Something to think about... With 30k on hand you're going to be looking in the range of 100k or less. Investment loans typically require a down payment of 25%. Have you considered purchasing a multifamily and house hacking ? This will give you an edge financially to take advantage of owner occupant mortgage programs ! You could be putting down as little as 3.5% if you go FHA.

Hi Jose, I would be more than happy to share the nuances of analyzing a deal in Allentown. My work is mainly with investors and I co- host a women's investing in Allentown group. My clients are able to find pretty nice cash flow! 

Hi Devyn,

The Allentown market is quite competitive but there are deals to be had.  I recommend Spade Property Management for your Allentown PM needs. Great group of investors & PMs. A group of us meet each month to discuss the Allentown market and analyze deals. Reach out if you want more info. There's certainly an opportunity there to learn of off market deals. 

Welcome Tyler! If you're interested in our local bigger pockets meetup shoot me a message. 

Yes, on market deals are very competitive right now.  Definitey a lot of opportunity for positive cash flow and a steady stream of tenants looking for rentals right now. I just helped my friend who's a property manager with a few hours of rental showings. She prescreened applicants and had 10+ well qualified putting applications in @1600 a month for a typical row home. 

So hypothetical if they think house is worth 100k I would need to put in 80k offer with 20k in repairs quote ?

Also when I look up records of mortgage history it shows the bank only needing to recoup 20k.

The owner died during a surgery and attorney is the one to approve before bank gets the offer to approve. The property was listed at 66k.. it's currently not on the MLS but the agent still has a contract to sell it. She told me it's going to auction soon if it doesn't sell.

Can you expand on what you said above Minna.... 

So lets say the bank gets my offer of 50k with 15k needed in repairs.  Why does the bank care how much I need to spend on repairs?